Israel's mainstream Jewish community is upset with the way its Ultra-Orthodox community is exempted from requirements to do military or national service and often doesn't pay any taxes. That tension provided an opening for an American-born rabbi, Dov Lipman to be elected with a goal of bridging the divide.

Benjamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama haven't exactly gotten along over the years, but they're inextricably linked. As Obama prepares to move into his second term, Netanyahu is trying to repair relations -- to make sure bad relations between the two don't keep him from winning his own election.

The official date for Israel's next election is late 2013 but Israeli officials are hinting that the vote could come as sooner. The World's Matthew Bell looks ahead with a profile of Yair Lapid, a well-known Israeli journalist, now running for office.